Ahead of the presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress, APC, there are strong indications that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is “the anointed candidate” of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Reports have it that President Buhari is backing his deputy as his preferred aspirant ahead of the APC National Convention scheduled for this weekend in Abuja.
A senior presidential aide who craved anonymity, said Buhari strongly believes that having worked closely with Osinbajo since May 2015, the vice president is the best aspirant to continue with the policies of the administration.
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The president is also said to be impressed with the way the vice president has piloted the affairs of the country during the period he held forte as Acting President, whilst the former was out of the country on medical vacation.
Following the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the flag-bearer of the PDP, some power brokers in the APC tried to project Senate President Ahmad Lawan as their best bet to rival the serial presidential candidate in the North, but their proposal was rejected, the source also added.
“As of today, Tuesday, the president is firmly behind the vice president as his preferred aspirant. He has refused to shift grounds even after some members of his kitchen cabinet started rooting for Ahmad Lawan after the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as PDP presidential candidate.
“Some northern powerful forces and religious leaders are pushing for a Northern candidate, while others are behind the moves to draft former President Goodluck Jonathan into the race so that he can serve just one term and return power back to the North in 2027, but Buhari is not buying into all of that.
“Those pushing for Lawan had argued that since Atiku is from the North East of Adamawa, the APC should also present its candidate from another North-East state, but the proposal was quickly shot down by some concerned stakeholders who also have the ears of the president.
“Those against Lawan argued that if fielded as APC presidential candidate, the election will be a walkover for PDP and Atiku as he will even beat the Senate President hands down in his home state of Yobe. The only place Lawan is popular is in Yobe North Senatorial District,” Daily Independent quoted the source as saying.